Georgia ranking · Clery-reported enrollment 2024

The Biggest Colleges in Georgia

The 50 largest of the 132 Georgia colleges and universities that report an enrolment to the U.S. Department of Education, ranked biggest first. Total enrolment counts online and distance students, so an institution with a large virtual programme can outrank a bigger physical campus.

53,363
Largest in Georgia
132
Institutions reporting
1,471
Median Georgia institution
#9
of 51 states by enrolment

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus is the largest institution in Georgia with 53,363 students

According to U.S. Department of Education campus-safety enrollment filings for 2024, Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus leads Georgia at 53,363 students, and the five largest hold 35% of state enrollment. This list covers the 50 largest of 132 reporting institutions. Totals include online learners, so a large virtual programme can outrank a bigger physical campus.

Data source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey

Largest in Georgia
53,363
Institutions reporting
132
State students in top 5
35%
Median Georgia institution
1,471

Georgia in one line

Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus is the largest institution in Georgia with 53,363 students, about 36x the 1,471 of the median institution in the state. The five largest hold 35% of the state's students, a middling concentration: large institutions matter here without crowding out the rest.

53,363
students at Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus
35%
of state students, in the top 5
590,704
students enrolled across Georgia
2,719
the #50 cutoff

Enrollment is total students reported in the OPE campus-safety disclosure for 2024, including online and distance learners. IPEDS supplies institution location and sector. The incident column is reported on-campus Clery Act incidents per 1,000 enrolled students.

Size joined to safety

These 50 largest institutions enroll 89.4% of Georgia's students; the other 82 reporting institutions hold the remaining 10.6%. Among the 50 mid-to-large campuses on this list, 27 sit below the 1.58 national median incident rate, and 0 also appear in the national safest-50.

89.4%
of state students, in these 50
27
below 1.58 national median /1k
0
also in national safest-50
2.85
Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus rate /1k

Incident rates are on-campus Clery Criminal Offenses and VAWA reports per 1,000 enrolled students for campuses with enrollment ≥ 2,000 and a national safety rank. A lower rate is not a personal safety verdict, reporting culture and online enrollment dilute raw counts. See /rankings/safest-campuses for the size-fair national list.

Showing the top 50 of 132 Georgia institutions by enrollment (527,978 of 590,704 students, 89.4%). The remaining 82 reporting institutions enroll 10.6% of the state total and are omitted from this capped ranking, not from the underlying federal tables.

What this ranking shows about Georgia

Georgia is the 9th largest US jurisdiction by total enrolment, teaching 3% of all reported US students. The 132 institutions reporting enrolment here split 51 public to 81 private, so neither sector defines the top of this list on its own.

Ranking by total enrolment puts institutions with large online programmes above institutions with larger physical campuses, because a virtual student body is not limited by classrooms or housing. A list of the biggest campuses by students physically present would order differently, and neither list is more correct, because they answer different questions. Enrolment here is the total headcount an institution reported to the federal OPE reporting cohort, which counts undergraduate and graduate students together and makes no distinction between full-time and part-time study. A university with a very large part-time or continuing-education population can therefore outrank one with more students on campus on any given weekday.

The incident-rate column is here because institution size changes how a raw incident count should be read, not because a larger university is more or less safe. Two institutions with the same number of reported incidents are not comparable if one enrols five times as many students, so the column expresses incidents per thousand enrolled. A rate still reflects reporting practice as much as underlying risk: an institution that encourages reporting and investigates thoroughly can record more incidents than one that does neither, and that is the opposite of what a naive reading suggests. Institutions where most students study online show diluted rates, because the denominator counts students who never set foot on a campus. Read the column as context for the size ranking, never as a safety verdict, and see our methodology for how both figures are assembled. For the same institutions ranked by cost rather than size, see the cheapest colleges rankings, or browse every institution we hold a record for.

Comparing states? See the 50 largest universities in the US, or this state's campus safety profile.

The bar to make Georgia's top-50 list is 2,719 students. Here is where that cutoff sits among all 132 Georgia institutions reporting enrollment:

The bar to make Georgia's top-50 list

Clery-reported enrollment · 132 Georgia institutions · 2024

2,719 Top 38% higher than 62% of 132 Georgia institutions

Show national distribution 0–6,000: 105 Georgia institutions (80%). This entry sits in this band. 6,000–12,000: 16 Georgia institutions (12%). Above this entry. 12,000–18,000: 4 Georgia institutions (3%). Above this entry. 18,000–24,000: 2 Georgia institutions (2%). Above this entry. 24,000–30,000: 1 Georgia institutions (1%). Above this entry. 30,000–36,000: 1 Georgia institutions (1%). Above this entry. 36,000–42,000: 0 Georgia institutions (0%). Above this entry. 42,000–48,000: 2 Georgia institutions (2%). Above this entry. 48,000–54,000: 1 Georgia institutions (1%). Above this entry. #50 cutoff 0 54,000 every Georgia institution, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more Georgia institutions. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Department of Education, OPE Campus Safety and Security Survey · 2024

The 50 largest of Georgia's 132 institutions

9
Emory University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
15,175
Incidents /1k
11.86
17
Mercer University Macon, GA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
9,196
Incidents /1k
5.44
42
Spelman College Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
3,417
Incidents /1k
2.63
49
Morehouse College Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit
Enrollment
2,847
Incidents /1k
1.76
# Institution EnrollmentIncidents /1k
1 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA · Public 53,363 100% of the leader · rank #1 2.85
2 Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public 47,764 90% of the leader · rank #2 1.61
3 University of Georgia Athens, GA · Public 43,146 81% of the leader · rank #3 2.04
4 Georgia State University Atlanta, GA · Public 34,944 65% of the leader · rank #4 1.55
5 Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA · Public 27,423 51% of the leader · rank #5 1.17
6 University of North Georgia Dahlonega, GA · Public 19,291 36% of the leader · rank #6 2.38
7 Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah, GA · Private nonprofit 18,550 35% of the leader · rank #7 1.73
8 Georgia State University-Perimeter College Atlanta, GA · Public 17,437 33% of the leader · rank #8 0.57
9 Emory University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit 15,175 28% of the leader · rank #9 11.86
10 University of West Georgia Carrollton, GA · Public 14,337 27% of the leader · rank #10 0.77
11 Georgia Gwinnett College Lawrenceville, GA · Public 12,230 23% of the leader · rank #11 2.78
12 Central Georgia Technical College Warner Robins, GA · Public 11,527 22% of the leader · rank #12 0.17
13 Gwinnett Technical College Lawrenceville, GA · Public 11,166 21% of the leader · rank #13 0.18
14 Chattahoochee Technical College Marietta, GA · Public 11,156 21% of the leader · rank #14 0.00
15 Augusta University Augusta, GA · Public 10,900 20% of the leader · rank #15 4.50
16 Valdosta State University Valdosta, GA · Public 10,262 19% of the leader · rank #16 3.31
17 Mercer University Macon, GA · Private nonprofit 9,196 17% of the leader · rank #17 5.44
18 Middle Georgia State University Macon, GA · Public 8,363 16% of the leader · rank #18 2.99
19 Columbus State University Columbus, GA · Public 7,913 15% of the leader · rank #19 5.69
20 Georgia Northwestern Technical College Rome, GA · Public 7,282 14% of the leader · rank #20 0.00
21 Georgia College & State University Milledgeville, GA · Public 7,097 13% of the leader · rank #21 0.70
22 West Georgia Technical College Waco, GA · Public 6,940 13% of the leader · rank #22 0.00
23 Lanier Technical College Gainesville, GA · Public 6,908 13% of the leader · rank #23 0.00
24 Albany State University Albany, GA · Public 6,768 13% of the leader · rank #24 6.80
25 Georgia Military College Milledgeville, GA · Public 6,575 12% of the leader · rank #25 0.30
26 Southern Crescent Technical College Griffin, GA · Public 6,185 12% of the leader · rank #26 0.16
27 Clayton State University Morrow, GA · Public 6,163 12% of the leader · rank #27 12.17
28 Georgia Highlands College Rome, GA · Public 5,382 10% of the leader · rank #28 0.19
29 Southern Regional Technical College Thomasville, GA · Public 5,381 10% of the leader · rank #29 0.93
30 Dalton State College Dalton, GA · Public 5,135 10% of the leader · rank #30 1.75
31 Strayer University-Georgia Chamblee, GA · Private for-profit 4,916 9% of the leader · rank #31 0.00
32 Atlanta Technical College Atlanta, GA · Public 4,498 8% of the leader · rank #32 0.00
33 Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Valdosta, GA · Public 4,466 8% of the leader · rank #33 0.00
34 Athens Technical College Athens, GA · Public 4,459 8% of the leader · rank #34 0.00
35 Augusta Technical College Augusta, GA · Public 4,455 8% of the leader · rank #35 0.22
36 Clark Atlanta University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit 4,252 8% of the leader · rank #36 5.88
37 Coastal Pines Technical College Waycross, GA · Public 4,130 8% of the leader · rank #37 0.48
38 Savannah Technical College Savannah, GA · Public 3,942 7% of the leader · rank #38 0.51
39 Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Tifton, GA · Public 3,825 7% of the leader · rank #39 2.09
40 Georgia Southwestern State University Americus, GA · Public 3,700 7% of the leader · rank #40 0.81
41 College of Coastal Georgia Brunswick, GA · Public 3,468 6% of the leader · rank #41 1.73
42 Spelman College Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit 3,417 6% of the leader · rank #42 2.63
43 Columbus Technical College Columbus, GA · Public 3,307 6% of the leader · rank #43 0.00
44 Georgia Piedmont Technical College Clarkston, GA · Public 3,282 6% of the leader · rank #44 0.00
45 Savannah State University Savannah, GA · Public 3,193 6% of the leader · rank #45 5.01
46 Gordon State College Barnesville, GA · Public 3,179 6% of the leader · rank #46 3.15
47 Toccoa Falls College Toccoa Falls, GA · Private nonprofit 3,067 6% of the leader · rank #47 0.00
48 Fort Valley State University Fort Valley, GA · Public 2,897 5% of the leader · rank #48 2.42
49 Morehouse College Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit 2,847 5% of the leader · rank #49 1.76
50 Albany Technical College Albany, GA · Public 2,719 5% of the leader · rank #50 0.00

What to do with this

Size is a starting filter for Georgia, not a verdict on any institution.

Institutions below the reporting floor, or without enrolment in the Campus Safety and Security Survey cohort for 2024, do not appear on this list. IPEDS supplies classification and location.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education Campus Safety and Security Survey (enrollment and Clery disclosures), joined to the IPEDS institutional directory (location and classification)

Every figure on PlainCampus is rendered directly from federal Clery Act source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Every figure on this page is computed at request time from the federal source tables; no ranking position or count is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-10-26.

PlainCampus is for informational purposes only and does not constitute safety, security, legal, or enrollment advice; the data describes reported on-campus activity, it is not a complete picture of safety at any campus and cannot predict any individual student's experience. See our appropriate use guidance.